AstraZeneca Strengthens Innovation Ecosystem and Expands Chronic Disease Portfolio

Recently, the 7th AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Conference successfully concluded. As a key initiative by AstraZeneca, the AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Conference has, through years of exploration and development, become an important platform for exchange and cooperation in China's life sciences and healthcare industry. Under the theme of "Innovative Quality, Integrated Ecosystem," this year’s conference featured one main summit and ten sub-forums, addressing multiple hot topics in industry development. To address the burden caused by chronic diseases and the key challenges in chronic disease management, the conference specifically organized a sub-forum on digital chronic disease management focusing on the “Three Highs and Three Slows.”Themed "Three Highs Co-management, Three Slows Co-prevention," the event attracted guests from government, industry, academia, research, medical, and investment sectors to discuss the current diagnosis and treatment status of "three highs and three slows" diseases, innovative management concepts, and practical models.

"The prevention and treatment of chronic diseases is a systematic and complex task that requires the joint efforts and collaboration of the government, medical institutions, pharmaceutical companies, and all sectors of society," said Lin Xiao, General Manager of AstraZeneca China's Biopharmaceutical Business, Head of Respiratory Inhalation and Biologics Division, and Head of Hong Kong and Macao regions, during an interview at the conference."As one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, AstraZeneca hopes to collaborate with all parties to jointly address the challenges posed by chronic diseases."

Focus on Patient Needs

Build a Chronic Disease Management Ecosystem

China's chronic disease market remains vast with a large patient population. The unmet needs for enabling patients to access innovative drugs more quickly and comprehensively manage with innovative solutions still exist.

According to the "Report on the Nutritional and Chronic Disease Status of Chinese Residents (2020)" released by the National Health Commission, as of 2019, the disease burden caused by chronic diseases in China exceeded 70%, and the deaths caused by chronic diseases accounted for 88.5% of total deaths.^[1]Currently, the number of people with cardiovascular disease in China has reached 330 million, the population with chronic kidney disease is 120 million, and the population with diabetes is 141 million.^[2]. According to the "Chinese Expert Consensus on Standardized Diagnosis and Treatment of 'Three Highs' Co-management (2023 Edition)"^[3]，More than 29% of patients with "three highs" have at least "two highs," which leads to a multiplied risk of severe cardiovascular events and further exacerbates the economic burden. Meanwhile,Nearly 100 million people aged over 20 in China suffer from COPD.^[4], Chronic heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease often coexist, leading to complex conditions and poor prognosis for patients, posing a challenge to public health.

During the AstraZeneca China Ecosystem Conference, at the "Three Highs and Three Slows" Digital Chronic Disease Management Forum, attendees shared and discussed issues such as the integrated management of the three highs, comprehensive target achievement, better overall patient benefits, and reducing the medical burden at the societal level. This provided new insights for chronic disease management, primary healthcare, and multi-scenario medical services. Among the discussions, several guests shared the achievements and experiences of the standardized Metabolic Management Center (MMC) and Cough and Wheeze Management Center (CWMC), innovative treatment solutions supported by AstraZeneca, implemented across different regions.

As a "benchmark case" of the ecosystem supported by AstraZeneca, the National Standardized Metabolic Diseases Management Center (MMC), advocated by Academician Ning Guang, has broken through the original treatment model. With the concept of "one center, one-stop service, one standard," it connects three important scenarios related to diabetes management—hospitals, communities, and families—through new technologies such as artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and big data. This solution, known as "intelligent" chronic disease management, is expected to achieve precise follow-up and efficient management for patients.It was learned on the forum that, as of now, 1,850 hospitals in China have joined the MMC, with over 1,350 already treating patients, managing 2.2 million diabetes patients across China, and adding more than 70,000 new managed patients each month.

At the same time, AstraZeneca collaborates with multiple parties to support the establishment of the Cough and Wheeze Management Center (CWMC) focusing on respiratory diseases. By optimizing the design of integrated outpatient consultation scenarios for patients with chronic respiratory conditions, as well as building smart service systems utilizing 5G, IoT, and digital therapeutics, it facilitates convenient treatment pathways for patients and enhances the prevention and treatment capabilities of chronic respiratory diseases.CWMC Digital Department has served more than 27,000 people and plans to establish 1,000 CWMC centers across China in the future, benefiting a wider population of patients with chronic respiratory diseases.

In order to make innovative solutions accessible as soon as possible and better serve patients with chronic diseases at the grassroots level, AstraZeneca continuously expands its collaboration at the grassroots level to help打通 the "last mile" of chronic disease management. At the sub-forum of this conference, AstraZeneca further expanded its efforts in the field of chronic disease management. Collaborating with ecosystem partners and a wide range of grassroots medical institutions, it supported the launch of digital chronic disease management (1+X) ecological cooperation for the entire county/district. Focusing on the whole process of screening, diagnosing, treating, and managing chronic diseases, it provides innovative solutions for county, township, and community health care institutions to enhance the capabilities and efficiency of grassroots medical services. Meanwhile, AstraZeneca also joined hands with six enterprises inside and outside the hospital, including Omron, Zhizhong, and Yuwell, to support the launch of hospital-store linkage chronic disease management ecological cooperation.For a long time, AstraZeneca has continuously supported the co-management model between hospitals and pharmacies, strengthened collaboration between pharmacists and specialists, enhanced the critical role of pharmacies in chronic disease management, thereby providing patients with more comprehensive health management services and supporting innovation in out-of-hospital chronic disease management payment models.

The creation of a scalable and replicable regional innovation model will further drive the development of an innovative ecosystem for chronic disease management across China. Lin Xiao revealed in an interview that AstraZeneca is planning to support the release of the Wuxi Chronic Disease Management White Paper. Based on city-level medical data of patients with "three highs and three slownesses" in Wuxi, the white paper will provide an in-depth analysis of the health economic benefits of specialized outpatient innovation models, the 1+X model, and the hospital-store co-management model. While showcasing the significant improvement in the health levels of Wuxi residents, it will also offer a reference model for other regions.

Lin Xiao said, "Based on years of focus and deep cultivation in the field of chronic disease treatment, our innovative ecosystem is also continuously evolving, making many beneficial attempts. Together with various forces, we are pushing forward the frontier of chronic disease management and shifting the focus downward, ultimately aiming to slow down disease progression and improve patient health outcomes."

Begin with the end in mind

Expand Cooperation and Layout in the Field of Chronic Diseases

The chronic disease sector has always been AstraZeneca's primary therapeutic area and growth engine. With continued in-depth efforts in cardiovascular, renal, metabolic, and COPD fields, AstraZeneca has introduced more than 10 innovative drugs to China, covering multiple indications.

"China is AstraZeneca's second largest market globally. The company has developed a comprehensive and excellent product pipeline in the fields of cardiovascular disease, renal disease, and metabolic disorders, providing Chinese patients with a full range of treatment options."In the next five years, we will have 25 new products and new indications approved for marketing in the treatment of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular, nephropathy, metabolism, and respiratory. At the same time, through continuous investment in research and development and strategic cooperation, AstraZeneca will change the treatment and management of billions of patients with chronic diseases worldwide." Lin Xiao is full of confidence in the future prospects of this market.

Facing the huge chronic disease market, AstraZeneca continues to increase its investment in the layout of its supply chain in China, and has significantly ramped up its efforts in recent years.Including 2022, AstraZeneca increased investment in Wuxi to introduce a high-potassium product production line and integrated the production line for digestive injections. In Taizhou, they invested to build a diabetes drug production line. In 2023, AstraZeneca further expanded its investment by investing $700 million in Qingdao to establish an inhalation aerosol supply base. At the beginning of 2024, AstraZeneca increased investment in Taizhou to establish a new diabetes drug production line, aiming to make Taizhou a global production and supply base for AstraZeneca's diabetes products with an annual output value of over 10 billion yuan. In March 2024, they invested another $475 million in Wuxi to build a small molecule drug factory.

At the same time, with the accelerated integration of digital technology and the healthcare industry, AstraZeneca is also actively embracing new health business models. AstraZeneca has partnered with Alibaba Health, JD Health, and other retail and internet sector collaborators to provide customized and innovative digital health management services for patients with chronic diseases. This initiative moves part of the consumption scenarios for chronic diseases online, enhancing the accessibility of high-quality medicines and medical service capabilities through digital means. Lin Xiao introduced, "By extensively collaborating with local partners in China and utilizing the powerful tool of 'digitalization' to improve healthcare service experiences, we are fully integrating chronic disease management across the entire patient treatment journey, extending the ecosystem."

Based on patients' needs, focusing on patient management, from discipline construction to grassroots linkage, from within the hospital to outside the hospital, a comprehensive and multi-level ecosystem has always been the direction of AstraZeneca's efforts.Today, this ecosystem is also continuously expanding outward to reach across the globe. Last year, AstraZeneca partnered with Eternity Bioscience to co-develop the next generation of oral small-molecule drugs, actively promoting innovative exploration in the fields of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other cardiometabolic diseases.

In Lin Xiao's view, this is an important opportunity for AstraZeneca to collaborate with Chinese innovation."We hope to deeply cooperate with local enterprises, and at the same time, bring the products of local enterprises to the global market to benefit more patients."”

Approval No.: CN-135388

This material is supported by AstraZeneca and is only intended for disease education purposes, not for promotional use. If you have any questions, please consult healthcare professionals.

Operation | Twenty Thirteen

Statement: Original content by Jian Shi Ju, please do not reprint without permission.

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